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Zoro took a bite of his pasta and glanced across the table. Sanji was thoroughly enjoying his own meal, savoring small bites and commenting every now and then on what the chef did right or what he would try in his own dishes. Normally Zoro would at least try and pay attention, but tonight he was too distracted.
His hand slipped into his pocket and toyed with the ring box there. He’d picked out the ring last week with Robin’s help, a silver band set with sapphires and intricate swirly patterns engraved between them. It had been with him all week as he waited for the perfect moment to propose.
But then he got tired of waiting and decided to make his own moment tonight.
His original idea had been to put the ring in Sanji’s dessert, a classically romantic play that he thought Sanji would love. But the more he thought about it, the more things could go horribly wrong. What if the kitchen staff lost the ring? What if Sanji didn’t notice the ring and ate it? What if putting the ring in the dessert made it inedible, and Sanji got super mad at him and said no?
Zoro really wanted Sanji to say yes.
So the ring stayed in his pocket, and Zoro was scrambling to come up with some other way of giving it to Sanji.
“You’re not eating,” Sanji’s voice shook him out of his thoughts, “Is it bad?”
“Oh, no,” Zoro glanced down at his pasta. He was too preoccupied with figuring out how to perfectly propose to the love of his life to take note of unimportant things like how his food tasted, “It’s fine.”
Sanji frowned and reached over, twirling the pasta onto his fork and sampling it for himself, eyes falling shut for a moment as he hummed in satisfaction, “The cream to cheese ratio in the alfredo sauce is one of the best I’ve ever tasted. It’s rich without being overbearing, and the delicate balance of flavors complement each other well.”
He took another bite, and Zoro took a moment to just watch him eat, watch the small smile that flickered across his face as he analyzed the flavors, his tongue darting out to get the last of the sauce on his lips, the softness in his eyes as he enjoyed the food. Those deep blue eyes glanced up at him, and he felt his heart stutter in his chest as he was struck by just how much he loved him.
He clutched the ring tighter in his hand and swallowed, “You can have the rest if you want.”
Sanji frowned, “You’re not hungry?”
He nodded, stomach too tied up in knots right now to even consider eating, “I had a big lunch.”
Sanji took a few more bites of the pasta before passing it along to their waiter to box up.
He could do it now. Before the waiter got back, he could show Sanji the ring and get on his knee and ask him to spend the rest of their lives together.
He ran his thumb over the ring box and glanced around the restaurant. The dining room was packed, mostly with other couples, but a few larger groups here and there. So many people, and if he proposed now he’d be the center of all their attention.
He didn’t want that. It might just be him being selfish, but he wanted this moment to belong to just him and Sanji.
Sanji tapped his hand where it was resting on the table and Zoro turned his attention to him.
“I’d ask what’s on your mind,” he said, “But your one brain cell can’t hold that complex a thought.”
“I don’t need to ask what’s on your mind,” Zoro smirked, “Your mind lives in the gutter.”
Sanji kicked his shin lightly and smirked back, “Shithead.”
Zoro rubbed his thumb along the side of Sanji’s hand, “Asshole.”
The waiter came back with their food and the check. Zoro pulled away to get his wallet but by the time he found it, Sanji had already handed the waiter his card.
Zoro frowned. He didn’t know much about proper proposal etiquette, but he figured if he was the one asking, he should probably be paying for dinner.
But before he could say anything about it, the waiter had brought Sanji back his card, and Sanji was leaving a tip, and they were leaving the restaurant.
“I coulda paid,” Zoro grumbled as they stepped out onto the street.
“Yeah, well,” he shrugged, “You got all dressed up for me and took me to the place I’ve been trying to go to for months. Paying was the least I could do.”
Zoro's frown deepened as he tugged at his shirt collar. He didn’t do those things for Sanji to buy him dinner.
“It’s still early,” Sanji put the food in his car and nodded in the general direction of the park, “Wanna walk around for a bit?”
“Sure,” he smiled and let Sanji lead the way.
When Sanji wasn’t looking, he grabbed his phone in his pocket and texted Usopp.
Okay we’ll do Plan B. Get ready
The park was quiet. There were a few other people milling around in the early evening, but for the most part it was just Zoro and Sanji and the night air between them.
They were walking along the path with their hands brushing up against each other, close enough to touch but not quite holding hands. Every time his hand touched Sanji’s he felt a jolt of warmth from the contact and felt it tingle all up his arm.
“It’s a nice night,” Sanji said as he puffed on his cigarette.
“Yeah,” Zoro grunted as his eyes darted around for the spot Usopp told him to get Sanji to.
“Yeah,” Sanji agreed as he blew out a stream of smoke, “Just, a really nice night.”
The distant sound of a violin playing filled his ears, and he turned to look at Sanji. The moonlight and cigarette smoke framed his face and cast his features in a soft light. When he turned to smile at Zoro he looked absolutely beautiful. Zoro’s chest filled with the heartfelt emotion and he fell even more in love with him.
The music grew louder, and Zoro reached out to hold Sanji’s hand. It was warm in his own, soft even with the calluses, and he gave it a squeeze. Sanji smiled at him and squeezed his hand back as he took a step closer. The air filled with that blend of cigarette smoke and spices that was uniquely Sanji, and Zoro was struck with a desperate urge to kiss him.
When Sanji took his cigarette out of his mouth, Zoro swooped in and captured his lips. Sanji kissed him back, and they stood there for a moment, each enjoying the other. The warmth and heat from the kiss spread throughout his body as he indulged himself in his favorite treat.
After a bit, Zoro pulled back. Sanji opened his eyes slowly and licked his lips, “What was that for?”
Zoro shrugged, “Felt like it.”
Sanji laughed, and Zoro’s eyes fell on his lips again. They were redder now and glistening and all too tempting, so before he could put his cigarette back in his mouth Zoro darted in and kissed him again.
As he pulled away, Sanji leaned forward and gave him one last quick peck before he took another drag from his cigarette, “You’re awfully friendly this evening.”
“Yeah, well,” Zoro stroked Sanj’s hand with his thumb, “It’s a nice night.”
Sanji chuckled as they continued walking.
The path split up ahead. Zoro was fairly certain that the bridge he needed to get Sanji to was over on the left, so he started down that path. He stopped when he felt a tugging on his hand and looked over to see Sanji trying to go right.
“Let’s go this way,” he said as he tugged at Sanji’s hand.
Sanji took a long drag from his cigarette before responding, “I kinda want to go this way, there’s something I want you to see. Unless, there’s a reason you want to go that way?"
He was only trying to get Sanji to the perfect spot to propose to him, but he couldn’t tell Sanji that, not without spoiling the surprise of the proposal. What else could he tell him?
“There’s…uh,” he started, stopped, then restarted again, “I, uh…”
Sanji tugged at his hand again and chuckled, “C’mon, you lost Marimo. Let me show you the way.”
“I’m not lost,” Zoro grumbled as he followed after him.
They walked down the path together, the light romantic music around them growing stronger with each passing moment, the wind picking up the cherry blossom petals that littered the path and swirling them around them. The air filled with the sweet flower fragrances as they walked further along.
He should have brought Sanji flowers, he realized suddenly. Given them to him before the restaurant. That was classically romantic right? Dinner and flowers and a proposal? Was it too late to start all over from the beginning?
He felt Sanji squeeze his hand and he glanced over at him. He was frowning, shoulders hunched and brow furrowed as if he was deep in thought about something.
“Nervous?” Zoro asked him.
“No way,” Sanji relaxed and smirked at him, “Why would I be?”
Zoro shrugged. He was probably just projecting.
As they turned a bend, he saw the bridge up ahead. He wasn’t quite sure how the bridge moved to the other side of the park, but whatever. Now he just needed to get Sanji to stop on the bridge, send the signal to Usopp, and finally pop this burning question.
The lights lining the path flickered on one by one as they walked closer to the bridge. The petals crunched softly under his feet as they climbed to the apex of the bridge, and the music seemed to grow even louder with every step they took.
When they got to the top of the bridge, Sanji stopped and let go of his hand.
“Do you remember this spot?”
Zoro glanced around. The whole park was full of trees and pathway like this so it was hard to tell one specific spot from another. They all looked vaguely familiar, “…Sure.”
Sanji sighed and took a drag from his cigarette, “We fought here once. You pushed me into the river.”
He did remember that, “You grabbed my shirt and dragged me with you.”
“Yeah,” he leaned his elbows on the railing and looked down at the river, “I wasn’t about to be the only one soaking wet.”
Zoro leaned on the railing and glanced down too. The water below the bridge, he knew from experience, wasn’t that deep. It had only come up to their knees when they’d stood up, but the riverbed had been full of hard rocks.
“As we were going down,” Sanji continued, “you grabbed me and cradled my head.” He ran his hand through the hair on the back of his head, as if he could still feel Zoro’s touch there to this day.
Zoro didn’t remember that part, but it sounded like something he’d do. He and Sanji may have fought all the time, but he never actually wanted him to see him get hurt.
“We were still fighting, but you still made sure I was safe,” he smiled softly and tapped his fingers on the railing, “That’s the moment I realized I loved you.”
He glance over at Sanji, bathed in moonlight and the soft glow of the lamps, fond look on his face from the reminiscing, and he was so in love with him in that moment.
He had to do it now.
He reached into his pocket to pull out his phone and text Usopp, when something caught his eye in the water. He leaned over the railing to get a better look and saw dozens of pink lights floating in the water. As they passed him by he noticed they were in the shape of a heart.
He looked back at Sanji and found him down on one knee, ring box in his hand as he looked up at Zoro.
Zoro instinctively checked his own pocket, but his ring box was still there.
“I,” Sanji cleared his throat and tried again, “I know this hasn’t been easy. I know I haven’t made this easy. But when I think about my goals and dreams for the future, I can only imagine it with you by my side. I want you by my side for all the ups and downs life will take us. I want to spend the rest of my life fighting with you and pushing each other into rivers.”
He opened the box, and inside was a ring with a black band and a line of emeralds embedded in it. It sparkled in the moonlight and Zoro couldn’t take his eyes off of it.
“Zoro, will you marry me?”
Zoro stared at Sanji and the ring in his hands and said the only thing that came into his head, “You bastard.”
Sanji frowned, “Is that a no?” He clutched the box tightly, “Did I misread it when you asked about us and marriage?”
“I, no, just,” he ran a hand over his face, “Just, come here for a second.”
Sanji looked wary, but closed the ring box and stood up.
Zoro quickly texted Usopp, then guided Sanji to the other side of the bridge where they had a perfect view of the far bank.
After a few moments a loud boom echoed around them as the first firework went off.
SANJI, the exploding lights painted the sky with the bright blue letters, WILL YOU MARRY ME?
Sanji gasped, mouth hanging open as Zoro took his own ring out of his pocket. He gently took Sanji’s hand and slipped the ring on his finger.
“I’m guessing that’s a yes?” He asked as he lifted Sanji’s hand to his lips and kissed the ring.
Sanji laughed and nodded, taking his ring out and sliding it on Zoro’s finger.
“You’re such a shitty moron,” Sanji said as he slid their fingers together, their rings knocking gently against each other, “You almost gave me a fucking heart attack.”
Zoro hummed as he leaned in and kissed him, doing his best to show him how much he loved him, and how happy he was. Sanji kissed him right back with just as much enthusiasm. When he pulled away he said, “I wanted to be the one to ask you.”
“Then you should have done it sooner,” he grinned as he leaned his forehead against Zoro’s, “Fucker.”
Zoro grinned back and stare at him. The moonlight and the fading fireworks made him glow, and his smile was bright as the cheery music swelled around them, and Zoro was never more in love with him than he was in that moment.
He wanted to kiss him, so he did. As always, Sanji met him halfway and gave as good as he got.